On the afternoon of November 20, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Liu Jianchao held a regular press conference and answered questions on China-Japan-ROK Leaders' Meeting, China-Japan Leaders' Meeting, China-EU Leaders' Meeting, the signing of the ASEAN Charter, and Baradei's Report on the Iranian nuclear issue and etc.

Liu: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. First of all, I will start with an announcement.

At the invitation of Premier Wen Jiabao of the State Council, Mr. Jose SOCRATES, Prime Minister of Portugal, which holds EU's rotating presidency, and Mr. Jose Manuel BARROSO, Chair of the European Commission will attend the Tenth China-EU Leaders' Meeting in Beijing on November 28.

Now the floor is open.

Q: How does China evaluate the report on the Iranian nuclear issue which was just submitted by Mr. Baradei, Director General of IAEA? And can you comment on the remarks of some US officials criticizing China for not being active enough on the Iranian nuclear issue when it could have played a greater role?

A: China is now studying carefully Director General Baradei's report on the Iranian nuclear issue. Our first impression will be, it is quite objective and professional. We applaud the efforts of IAEA and its Director General. China has taken note that according to the report, some progress has been made on the unsettled issues between IAEA and Iran, and Iran has certain cooperation with IAEA, yet, Iran has not suspended its uranium enrichment activities as required by relevant Security Council resolutions. China hopes that Iran will faithfully implement relevant resolutions of the Security Council, and continue to cooperate with IAEA so as to solve the unsettled issues comprehensively at an early date and defuse concerns of the international community. China also hopes that other parties concerned remain committed to diplomatic efforts and create conditions for an early resumption of negotiations.

On your second question, we have also taken note of some criticisms or even accusations of China on the Iranian nuclear issue. They are neither true nor helpful. China has been committed to safeguarding the international non-proliferation regime, and working on relevant parties for peaceful talks in its own way and promoting the peaceful resolution of Iranian nuclear issue through diplomatic negotiations. China has taken part in consultations over relevant Security Council resolutions in an active and responsible manner, and has strictly implemented relevant resolutions. China's effort on a proper settlement of the Iranian nuclear issue is widely recognized.

When it comes to the Iranian nuclear issue, China and the US share the identical goal of safeguarding the international non-proliferation regime, and both countries believe that the Iranian nuclear issue should be solved through dialogues and negotiations. It is natural that the two countries cannot agree on all the issues. It will be helpful if there are more constructive cooperation and fewer accusations.

Q: The China-EU Leaders' Meeting will open next week. What kind of agreement does China expect the meeting to conclude? And what kind of achievement to score? Secondly, as the EU has been urging China to speed up the RMB revaluation, will China take any measures? Lastly, is China concerned when the EU is exerting even greater pressure on China over the foreign exchange rate and trade?

A: I have briefed you on the tenth China-EU Leaders' Meeting, which will be held at an important stage of the China-EU relations. With high expectations, China and the EU hope to take advantage of the meeting to promote a long-term, sound and stable development of the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two. This is the common aspiration of both governments and peoples. I believe that China and the EU will work together to reach consensus on a series of issues for further promotion of the China-EU relations. Despite some new situations in the development, we believe the foundation of the China-EU relations and the shared interests have not changed. Therefore, further promotion of the long-term, sound and stable development of the China-EU relations serve the interests of both sides.

China and EU have some frictions over RMB exchange rate and trade in the process of the development of their bilateral relations. These problems would not emerge if there were no development in their relationship and economic cooperation and trade. We should handle China-EU relations from strategic and long-term perspectives and solve these problems by narrowing our differences through dialogue and negotiations.

Q: In the discussion among WTO members on candidates for its Appellate Body yesterday, representatives from Taiwan expressed their concern that the judge recommended by the Chinese mainland might not be fair in handling trade cases involving Taiwan. Do you have any comment?

A: This is an issue involving personnel arrangements within the WTO. We believe that it will be properly solved through negotiations among relevant WTO members. lay:none' cellspacing='5' cellpadding='0' width='100%' border='0'>